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Much to the consternation of the consumer, the complexities of the German wine universe rival, or perhaps even surpass, those of Burgundy. There is the same maddening plethora of regions and vineyards, the unpronounceable names, etc. But the good news is that, also like Burgundy, German wines at their best possess an ineffable majesty, a sublime beauty bordering on the spiritual.

Much to the consternation of the consumer, the complexities of the German wine universe rival, or perhaps even surpass, those of Burgundy. There is the same maddening plethora of regions and vineyards, the unpronounceable names, etc. But the good news is that, also like Burgundy, German wines at their best possess an ineffable majesty, a sublime beauty bordering on the spiritual.

There are something like 13 German winegrowing regions, the most important being the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Nahe, and Rheinpfalz. Within these regions are scores of terroirs, each the result of variations in microclimate, direction and angle of slope, and soil structure and composition. The Riesling grape has proven itself over the centuries as the one best suited to expressing the individual character of each of these terroirs.

That terroir expression can be further fine-tuned or modulated, if you will, according to the ripeness of the grapes at harvest, and the level of residual sugar that the winemaker has chosen to allow to remain in the finished wine. Picked at relatively modest sugar levels (the exact numbers being mandated by law), a wine may be classed a QbA or Kabinett (usually slightly "off-dry") a step up in ripeness from that being a Spätlese, then Auslese (the former typically a bit less sweet than the latter) then Beerenauslese, and in rare years Trockenbeerenauslese (these last two ripeness levels—BA and TBA for short—produce wines of incredible viscosity, richness, and sweetness).

Up through Spätlese, these wines display mind-boggling versatility, capable of being paired with all sorts of seafood, pork in myriad forms, and more delicate Asian cuisines such as Cantonese and Japanese. When you reach Auslese, the sweetness makes it the only possible wine that can comfortably work with hot Indian curries, Szechuan, and Thai dishes. And in the BAs and TBAs, you have wines that can eclipse all but the greatest vintages of Château d'Yquem.
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